At about 2pm Tuesday January 13th 2009, I left my apartment at Towson, Maryland for the very last time. I have graduated from Towson University, attended the commencement, and it is time to go.

My ride knocked on my door. The gentleman kind enough to drive me to the airport was the very first American I have met when I first arrived on these shores in January 2007. Though we did not hang out at a regular basis, Philip Hoyle was the first and last person in my adventure in the United States.

I have said all my goodbyes, and my bags were full to the brim. I still had to leave many a thing behind as I could not accommodate them, having my guitar as my second check-in luggage. I would have to go home with less than I came with. After days of ensuring that my large suitcase does not exceed the weight limit (in which case I would have to pay $150), I was relieved when the gauge at the airport read exactly 50lbs.

My 10-pound Playstation 3 were to follow me home like a good pet. However, putting it on my carry-on luggage proved to be a bad idea. I had to remove it everytime I go through airport security, just as we had to isolate our laptops when going through the scanner. Unfortunately, the lesson I learned is useless as I would not transport a gaming console overseas again.

After a five-hour wait at JFK, I was on my way to Korea to transfer to a flight to Kuala Lumpur. However, the transit at Incheon International airport lasted 11 hours. I dreaded this at first, but the fact that Incheon is an incredibly clean, posh, and comfortable airport helped a lot (That being said, JFK and BWI suck. I have to pay to use trolleys? Really?). Also, my Paypal debit card actually worked restaurant there; I don’t have to break my precious USD that I will live off in KL to prevent starvation. Plus, I love the fact that there are bathrooms every few hundred yards. Resting here was much welcome after sitting in a plane for 14 hours. If only the sleeping black dude next to me would stay on his side of the seats.

The free WiFi at Incheon allowed me to update my Facebook status, contact my folks, and wrote a large portion of this post. After a long bout of boredom, I finally boarded my final flight home. It was during that flight when I swore with every breath of my body that I will never bring my baby on a plane, ever.

And here I sit finishing up this post at the international arrivals hall of KLIA, awaiting my ride home. I had a total of 39 hours of flights and transits to think about my old life in America, and the new adventures I will embark on. I could not believe that two years had gone by just like that. Nonetheless, I did not regret it one bit.

Well, goodbye America. It has been awesome.